Carter, who was diagnosed with dementia in May, was fiercely loyal ally throughout husband’s long political career
Rosalynn Carter, wife of the 39th president Jimmy Carter, has died at the couple’s Georgia home aged 96.
Carter, who became one of the nation’s leading mental health advocates during and after her husband’s time in the White House, was diagnosed with dementia in May.
Continue reading...JB Pritzker, who’s of Jewish descent, says Trump ‘is dangerous for our democracy’ and ‘dangerous for specific minority groups in US
Donald Trump’s rhetoric on immigration, his plans for a second presidency if he wins next year’s election, and his description of political enemies as “vermin” reflect the language of 1930s Germany and the Nazis’ rise to power there, a senior Democrat warned on Sunday.
JB Pritzker, the Illinois governor of Jewish descent who helped drive the construction of the state’s Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Chicago, added his voice to a wave of condemnation over the former president’s remarks.
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Another video posted online appeared to show Capitol police officers rolling their bikes over candles that were laid out to mourn the 11,000 Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes.
In a caption accompanying the video, Jewish Voice for Peace Action said:
“Last night, in DC Jews and allies carried out a vigil and a nonviolent, moral act of civil disobedience to call on Democrats to support a ceasefire to save Palestinian and Israeli lives. Within moments, police brutally assaulted peaceful protestors, injuring over 90.”
“Every hour of this horrific bombardment, more Palestinians are killed. Every hour, the lives of the hostages hang in the balance. Every hour increases the risk of a broader regional war, endangering the lives of millions of people across the entire region.
We the base of the Democratic party are here to say if you care about Palestinians, if you care about Israelis, if you care about Jews, if you care about humanity, we need you to call for a ceasefire, a hostage exchange, a deescalation, and to chart a path toward freedom and safety for all. Instead of heeding our call for a ceasefire, police violently attacked nonviolent protesters with pepper spray.”
Continue reading...Ceasefire Now Coalition says 90 activists injured by police using violent tactics to break up protest outside DNC headquarters
Protesters against Israel’s military offensive in Gaza were locked in a battle of words with Washington police on Thursday after accusing officers of violently breaking up a demonstration on Capitol Hill that organisers insist was peaceful.
Leaders of the Ceasefire Now Coalition said 90 of their activists were injured in confrontations that took place after they staged a candlelit vigil outside the Democratic National Committee (DNC) headquarters on Wednesday evening.
Continue reading...Extremist Republican says in book ‘not one Democrat was willing to stay to defend the chamber’ but claim rejected as ‘patently false’
In a new book, the extremist Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene claims no Democrats stayed in the House chamber on January 6 to help defend it against rioters sent by Donald Trump to block the certification of Joe Biden’s election win – a claim one Democrat who did stay labeled “patently false”.
Greene’s book, MTG, will be published next week. The Guardian obtained a copy.
Continue reading...President says comment from predecessor at New Hampshire rally ‘echoes language you heard in Nazi Germany in the 30s’
Joe Biden has attacked Donald Trump for using the word “vermin” to refer to his political enemies, saying it echoed the language of Nazi Germany.
At a recent rally in New Hampshire, Trump repeated his false claim that fraud cost him the 2020 presidential election and told the crowd he would “root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections”.
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Donald Trump’s disdain for Letitia James, the New York attorney general who brought a $250m fraud case against the former president, and Arthur Engoron, the judge adjudicating it, is pretty well known. Trump was fined twice last month for breaching a gag order.
On Tuesday, Trump ramped up the rhetoric further, promoting a post on his Truth Social network calling for a citizen’s arrest of the pair “for blatant election interference and harassment”.
Continue reading...Democrats and mainstream Republicans join forces with vote of 336 to 95 to advance stopgap spending package
The House on Tuesday approved a novel plan to prevent a government shutdown, with the recently-installed Republican House speaker Mike Johnson relying on Democratic votes as the far-right flank of his caucus dissented.
By a vote of 336 to 95, a coalition of nearly every Democratic representative and more mainstream Republicans joined forces to advance the stopgap spending package that would fund government departments into early 2024, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold needed for passage under an expedited process. Ninety-three Republicans and two Democrats opposed the measure.
Continue reading...Amid concern over the president’s poll ratings, Gavin Newsom appears to be running something of a shadow campaign
One of the strongest candidates for US president in 2024 may be one who’s not yet in the race. There’s growing evidence that Gavin Newsom, the charismatic and energetic Democratic governor of California, is running something of a shadow campaign to Joe Biden and ready to step up if, or when, the incumbent is out of the running.
Several developments in recent days suggest Newsom, who romped to re-election a year ago without really campaigning, is ready to bring forward what was already expected to be a strong run for the presidency in 2028.
Continue reading...Rashida Tlaib and other Democratic members of ‘the Squad’ have been targeted but also a libertarian Republican
The pro-Israel lobby in the US is airing attack ads and beginning to back primary opponents to challenge Congress members who are not voting for or supporting Israel’s war on Gaza.
Over the last 10 days, groups that support Israel have launched ads in at least seven districts targeting those who have been particularly vocal in calling attention to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, opposing Israeli military aid or criticizing Israel’s government.
Continue reading...Kevin McCarthy’s replacement tasked with passing legislation to fund the government but issues that toppled predecessor persist
Meanwhile in South Carolina, Kamala Harris officially filed the Biden campaign’s paperwork to appear on its primary ballot:
Joe Biden’s victory in the state’s primary three years ago revived a presidential campaign that appeared to be flagging. After winning the White House, he successfully pushed to make it the first state to vote in the Democrats’ nominating calendar, arguing the process should better reflect the country’s diversity, though not all Democrats were happy about the decision.
Continue reading...Democratic West Virginia senator signalled possible White House run in announcement he would not run for re-election to Senate
The West Virginia Democrat senator Joe Manchin’s announcement that he will not run for re-election next year has triggered speculation that he might instead launch a bid for the White House as the candidate of No Labels, a third-party group which has attracted significant funding.
Manchin has long flirted with such a bid, brushing off warnings that by running he would only help elect Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate who is far ahead in the party’s 2024 nomination race.
Continue reading...Maga Republican and leftwing Democrat among 16 US Congress members lobbying Joe Biden to drop extradition attempts against WikiLeaks founder
Maga Republican and fierce Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene and leftwing Democratic firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have found common ground in freeing Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
The pair are among 16 members of the US Congress who have written directly to president Joe Biden urging the United States to drop its extradition attempts against Assange and halt any prosecutorial proceedings immediately.
Continue reading...Controversial West Virginia Democrat, 76, has for years held outsized degree of power within party
West Virginia’s controversial Democratic US senator Joe Manchin has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2024 and will instead “fight to unite the middle”.
The 76-year-old senator, who for years has held an outsized degree of power within the Democratic party and often defied its leadership, appeared in July at an event held by a political group exploring a third-party presidential bid.
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Joe Biden has hailed the tentative deal reached between SAG-AFTRA and television studios on Wednesday.
In a statement released by the White House on Thursday, Biden said:
Collective bargaining works. I applaud SAG-AFTRA and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers for working together in good faith towards an agreement that allows our entertainment industry to continue telling the stories of America.
When both sides come to the table to negotiate in earnest they can make businesses stronger and allow workers to secure pay and benefits that help them raise families and retire with dignity.
“She called me four-letter words in each of the last two debates… The reality is this – the Republican party has appropriately I think had scrutiny of Hunter Biden for years. I mean, you know, not only the media but even Republican politicians, correctly,” said Ramaswamy.
“In the last debate…she said, ‘I feel dumber every time I hear you speak’… For using TikTok, the criticism wasn’t of Nikki Haley’s daughter. It was of Nikki Haley for having been completely oblivious to where the next generation of Americans is actually getting their information,” he added.
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Philadephia has elected Cherelle Parker, the first female mayor to lead the city.
Following her victory, Parker, who served 10 years as a state representative for northwest Philadelphia, said:
“Thank you Philly. We did it. We made history, or “her” story. As a little girl, I never dreamed that this moment would arrive but it’s here now… From the bottom of my heart, thank you for believing in me and in my vision for a safer, cleaner greener city with economic oppurtunity for all.”
Continue reading...Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks out in defense of progressive congresswoman censured over criticism of Israel’s attacks in Gaza
Supporters of Rashida Tlaib are donating to and speaking out in defense of the progressive Democratic congresswoman following her censure from Congress, while the White House “strongly disagrees” with her use of the slogan “from the river to the sea”.
Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in the US Congress, was censured on Tuesday over her criticism of Israel’s attacks in Gaza.
Continue reading...Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in the chamber, sparked criticism by defending the slogan ‘from the river to the sea’
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted late on Tuesday to censure the Democratic representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan – the only Palestinian American in Congress – in an extraordinary rebuke of her rhetoric about the Israel-Hamas war.
The 234-188 tally came after enough Democrats joined with Republicans to censure Tlaib, a punishment one step below expulsion from the House. The three-term congresswoman has long been a target of criticism for her views on the decades-long conflict in the Middle East.
Continue reading...Republican-leaning state rejects GOP challenger Daniel Cameron, after Beshear’s campaign focused on issue
Andy Beshear, the Democratic incumbent governor, won a second term in the Republican-leaning state of Kentucky on Tuesday.
Beshear’s hope that his support of abortion rights would persuade voters was realized even as skepticism of the national Democratic party grows in the state.
Continue reading...Parker, who served for 10 years as state representative, promised to make Philly the ‘safest, cleanest, greenest big city in the nation’
Cherelle Parker was elected as Philadelphia’s 100th mayor on Tuesday, becoming the first woman to hold the post.
Voters were also choosing a new leader for Allegheny county, which is home to Pittsburgh. The races will set the electoral stage for 2024, when Pennsylvania will be a presidential battleground state, with candidates taking lessons about how Democrats see crime and the strength of progressives in local races into the next election cycle.
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